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Hi

First post here.

A friend asked me if i can be their FOH man for a couple of gigs. I've been working in studios for a while now but I've never really did any live work.

At the moment i know that this club is "fully equipped" what ever that means...but i don't know how exactly..

Anyway i was wondering how different is it from a studio situation and what should i have in mind.

Thanks

Comments

audiokid Sun, 05/30/2010 - 08:44

feedback, standing waves, temp changes, wind and crowd density that greatly effects acoustics and proximity are the main things.
Moving x-over points, to eq, no reverb (echo is my preference) help compromise for all this above is a another factor.

In house gigs are all about room acoustics, outdoor are all above but wind and the loss of bass and loosing. Once you get that, the fun begins.
Being able to pick freq in a split sec and dealing with it, is critical too.

I did inside for 18 years, 46 weeks a year x 6 nights a week. The last 18 I have been in a controlled environment. IMHO, very different in that respect. Mixing live sound and in the studio are two different animals.

I should add, if you are a perfectionist, don't take it as serious because live sound is always changing. It can drive you nuts. Over all the years I did this, I eventually learned to choose a spot that was the overall best place to mix and had to live with the sound. You simply can't make it perfect everywhere. The Soundman is in a constant state of trying to control acoustic change and pleasing the crowd.

Oh, and dealing with musicians that don't have a clue about any of this.

Have fun

anonymous Sun, 05/30/2010 - 10:24

[quote=dvdhawk, post: 348999]Do you mean outside of the studio, or in the great outdoors?

im not sure what do you mean by that.

I've been told that mixing in the studio is different than mixing a live gig. Examples of that was to use gates while mixing (live) or if its up to me on how many mics to use on the drums.. etc etc...

I understand that acoustics play an important role but i haven't been to that place yet so i would have an opinion.

ps. i screwed up with the quote.

dvdhawk Sun, 05/30/2010 - 19:33

Hi grenos,

Welcome to RO by the way!

I hope you don't think I was trying to give you any grief. I was just looking for some clarification. The subject of your post says 'outdoor gig', then the post goes on to discuss the differences in mixing a band live and mixing in the studio.

When I saw 'outdoor gig' and a 'fully equipped' club. I was somewhat confused.

Maybe it's just me, but 'club' implies there are 4 or more walls involved. And what most of us consider outdoor gigs would be 'open-air', tent, or pavillion.

Again, not trying to bust your chops, just trying make sure we understand what you're asking for - so the folks here can give you the best possible advice.

Thanks

anonymous Sun, 05/30/2010 - 20:04

Haha...no worries...i didn't notice how misleading my post was till you mention it. Sorry about that.. well this gig is taking place in a space just outside of a club...So yeah it is an open-air gig.By saying that the "club" is well equipped i meant that they'll have everything set up so i won't need anything else..(at least i hope so)..

Again thanks for the tips so far and really sorry about the form of the question.

audiokid Sun, 05/30/2010 - 22:15

same as Dave, I wasn't sure either. I started replying and then thought... hmm outside maybe so I changed my direction lol .

Gates, that all depends on the band too. Some musicians play so well and balanced. Some are so screwed and play so loud you'll need gates. IMHO, my opening is where you start and where the basics start, then the toys begin.